My People,
Most jewelry lives badly. A dish by the sink. A zip pouch that came free with something else. The bottom of a drawer, where chains find each other overnight and knot themselves into one impossible little ball you’ll spend eleven minutes undoing with a pin. I’ve done all three for years, despite owning pieces I genuinely love. Then a friend of mine, a beauty writer who is reliably two seasons ahead of the rest of us, introduced me to Trove.
Trove makes beautiful jewelry boxes using traditional lacquerware techniques, with hand-built layers of lacquer that give the finish an incredible depth. Inside is soft faux suede, the hardware is brass-plated, and hidden magnets make the lid close with a very satisfying little thunk. But the reason I love it isn’t really the craftsmanship. It’s the idea behind it: this is a jewelry box designed for a collection, not just for the jewelry you happen to own today.
My top pick is the Mini Trunk, at around $759. I realize that’s a lot of money for a jewelry box. But it is also the kind of thing you buy once. It has enough room to grow with your collection without taking over your dresser the way the full-size Trunk does. Everything has a place, chains stay separated, and the things you actually love suddenly feel like they have somewhere proper to live.
If $759 is more than you want to spend the stackable trays are just as beautiful, and starting around $298, are a much easier entry point. They’re open, no lid, and they’re right if you rotate the same handful of pieces and want them where you can see them; they’re also the version to give as a gift. The Sidekick, around $349, is the travel version. And then there are the colors: taupe, black and navy; royal red if you want it to pop. I went with midnight navy.
A few things to know: Lacquer scratches — Trove says so themselves, and asks for a soft cloth, no rough surfaces, and no slamming the lid; that’s the trade for the depth of the finish.
A jewelry box is a small argument about what you intend to keep. And if I’m going to buy one once, I want the one that makes me happy every time I open it. It’s an object chosen carefully, made well, on the assumption that what goes inside it is worth the trouble.
More soon.